Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dunfermline bomb disposal expert aims for Invictus Games 2020

Ben in action
Ben in action

Injured Fife veteran Ben Groves has his sights set on competing in the 2020 Invictus Games.

The Dunfermline man is going for glory after forces charity Help for Heroes introduced him to the concept of recovery through sport.

The 39-year-old, due to be medically discharged later this year after 17 years in the forces, enlisted after seeing the Twin Towers attack.

The father-of-four served for eight years as a Royal Military Policeman in Germany.

But after two tours in Iraq he felt he could make more of a difference as a bomb disposal operator, retrained as an ammunition technician and was posted to 11 EOD Regt Royal Logistic Corps, serving in Afghanistan, Falklands and Kenya.

Ben was seriously injured while operating as part of an IED disposal team in Helmand in 2010.

He still has shrapnel embedded in his left leg which can’t be removed.

Ben lines up with fellow cyclists

As a keen cyclist, he is training daily for the Help for Heroes Big Battlefield Bike Ride in June, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D Day landings.

Following the success of last year’s Sydney Games and previous events, Help for Heroes, the MoD and Royal British Legion have designed a programme leading up to the next tournament.

Giving the chance for people to engage with sport at all levels, this celebration of sport will culminate in the Team UK Invictus Games trials in Sheffield in July.

Having taken part in a taster event, he is now focusing on the UK trials for the games, established by Prince Harry, which will be staged in 2020 in The Hague.

The cyclist hopes to follow in the footsteps of silver medallist Michael Mellon from Cardenden, who was the only Scot to compete in the Invictus Games last year.

He said: “After hitting rock bottom last year I succumbed to the despair that PTSD brings with it.

“I didn’t leave the house, pushed my friends and family away and thought my home was my ‘castle’ and safe place.”

But through sport and competition he  was shown a way to re-engage with the outside world.

“It gave me a purpose, a belonging and a reason to live and I have made new friends along the way.”

He could not stress his gratitude to Help for Heroes enough as the support he has been given has reaffirmed his competitiveness and shown his potential to others.

Ben has now set his sight on a 500-mile tourist route through the Highlands, in what he hopes will be a first.

He said: “My ambition is to ride non-stop around the North Coast 500 route on my handcycle, a feat I don’t believe has been achieved to date.

“I want to raise money equal to or greater than the financial support I have already received.

“I feel it is crucial that I pay back what I have taken out so that others may receive the support they need.”

Veterans and currently serving personnel can find out more information and sign up to join Team UK before March 9 at http://h4hweb.com/jointeamuk.